SEVIERVILLE – Sevier County High School student Kerri Owens got her driver’s license three months ago but has already been in two minor traffic accidents. Kerri’s Mom sent her to Collision Avoidance Training with the Sevierville Police Department this weekend with the hope that it would improve her daughter’s driving skills.

From left: Sevierville Police Chief Don Myers and Paul Burris of the National Traffic Safety Academy congratulate teen students following the Collision Avoidance Training held at Smokies Stadium on Saturday, March 21. Photo by SCN.

The Collision Avoidance Training (CAT) program is a 12-hour behind-the-wheel advanced driver training program that has been proven successful in reducing teenage car crashes, injuries and deaths. The program is designed to provide teens with knowledge and training that prepares them for the emergency situations they encounter daily on highways.

“Teens completing this program are 90 percent less likely to be involved in a crash and 50 percent less likely to receive a traffic citation compared to teens of the same age with comparable driving experience,” says Paul Burris of the National Traffic Safety Academy (NTSA). The Tallahassee, Florida-based organization conducted the CAT sessions on Friday at the Sevierville Police Department and on Saturday in the parking lot at Smokies Stadium.

Teen students at the CAT session on Saturday drove their own vehicles through a variety of challenging situations requiring quick decisions. Photo by SCN.

“On Friday our six students had a four-hour class on things like rules of the road, driving dynamics such as watching for what’s coming further down the road and not just watching right in front of you, and how to properly maintain a car, things like tires and oil and wiper blades,” said Sevierville Police Chief Don Myers. “On Saturday, the students will be driving all day from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on an obstacle course.”

Myers said the CAT sessions were serving a dual purpose in that there were several police officers who were also being instructed on how to teach the course along with the students who were taking the class this time. The Northview Fire Department came on Saturday morning to wet the pavement of the course and created a “fog” that students had to drive through.

“We are so grateful that Brian Cox made arrangements for us to use the parking lot here at Smokies Stadium,” Myers said. “We had initially planned to do the obstacle course at the (Sevierville) airport, but it just wasn’t large enough of a space for us.”

The obstacle course is a confidence builder for teens, and teaches them about situations where they must make a quick decision to avoid a crash. The students were required to have valid driver’s licenses and insurance, and each teen drove their own car.

“They need to know how their own car will respond in certain situations,” Myers said. “They learn here that braking is not always the best option. We teach them to drive with the expectation that other drivers are not always going to do everything right.”

Kerri Owens said the CAT sessions were a great benefit to her and she was glad that her Mom insisted that she take the course.

“I can back up in my car now,” Owens said. “And I learned the right way to take a turn. I didn’t realize that the way I was holding the steering wheel was not the best way.”

Myers said the class was a great success and that plans were in the works to hold another soon. For more information, contact the Sevierville Police Department at 453-7296. For more information on the CAT program, visit www.nationaltrafficsafetyacademy.com

–Laura Long/SevierCountyNews.com